Recipes – Storytelling – Delicious Photos

Orange Almond Poppy Chiffon Cake

Hello again, or welcome, for the first time. You have stopped in on Feasts for All Seasons on a very happy day – we’re 4 today! That means many thank yous, sprinkles, a moment or two of nostalgia and of course, cake.

If this blog was a child it would be walking and talking and have already developed a lot of it’s own personality. It would have character and humor and feelings, it would be full of ideas and dreams. In these ways, it is a bit like a child, needing love and nurturing to survive and thrive – an adventure and a labor of love. This is an opportune moment to say some thank yous and express the gratitude that I have for my friends and family for all their support from day one.

To my immediate household, thank you for your honesty with all the recipe testing and your infinite patience when the kitchen is a wreck and every flat surface in the house seems to be covered in dishes, props, and foods you are not yet allowed to eat. Thank you also, for helping me deal with the aftermath. To my friends and colleagues, thank you for your sustained and seemingly endless interest, for always asking how things are going with Feasts for All Seasons, for sending links to your friends and family, and for sharing your experiences of my recipes with me. To my fellow food bloggers, and you are a huge community, thank you for always raising the bar and keeping things so interesting – you are the greatest source of inspiration and I love seeing us all grow alongside each other. To everyone else, readers, subscribers, social media followers – thank you. Thank you for stopping in, checking things out, commenting, coming back and sharing my little slice of the internet with your food friends. I’m ecstatic to see what this year brings and I’m happy to have you all along for the ride.

Now for more pictures of this Orange Almond Poppy Chiffon Cake and a spectacular recipe! Enjoy!

Orange Almond Poppy Chiffon Cake

This cake bakes up tall and proud and makes a delicious and unexpected party cake!

7 egg whites

½ tsp cream of tartar

2½ Cups all purpose flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

½ Cup vegetable oil

1½ Cups sugar

7 egg yolks

¾ Cup cold water

½ Cup poppy seeds

1 Tbsp almond extract

zest of 2 oranges

Begin by soaking the poppy seeds in the cold water. Allow them to rest while you prepare the other parts of the batter.

Preheat the oven to 350°

Grease a tube or Bundt pan.

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix the yolks, oil, almond extract and sugar. Mix well until sugar is dissolved.

With an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until frothy, about 30 seconds. Add the cream of tartar and continue to whip on high speed until the egg whites form firm peaks when you lift the beaters out. Set aside as you finish the batter.

Add the poppy seed/water mixture to the egg yolk mixture and stir well. Add the flour, in 2 parts, stirring well after each addition.

Stir in ¼ of the egg whites to lighten the batter. Gently fold in the remaining egg whites taking care not to deflate them.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 60-65 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

Allow to cool for 5 minutes in the pan before inverting the cake onto a cooling rack. Cool completely before glazing with Almond Glaze.

Almond Glaze

The addition of salt may be counter-intuitive, but it will mellow the harsh sweetness of the sugar.

3 Cups icing (confectioner’s) sugar

¼ – ½ Cup milk

1 Tbsp almond extract

a pinch of salt

Combine the sugar and almond extract, adding milk until the glaze is a thick but pour-able consistency. Stir in salt.